Well, I finally got my CPAP (420G) and full face mask yesterday after over six weeks of Dr. appointment, waiting, sleep test, waiting, report from sleep center, waiting, prescription and finally taking some direct action to intervene with DME and insurance company. Talk about frustrating!!!
During the sleep test, a CPAP was fitted and I slept pretty darn well after it taking about 45 minutes to get used to it. It took 2 weeks for the test to be interpreted by a sleep Dr., then multiple calls over several days to ensure report made it to my regular Dr's office. Then, 3 days after the report got to my regular Dr.'s office, I got a call yesterday saying "Your CPAP prescription is ready". (Happy Valentine's Day!) It took about 3 hours to get with my insurance company and find an in-network DME supplier in town and find a good one. Mostly what I heard was "We have an RT only 1 day a week, and they aren't due in until Friday." or "We don't stock any CPAPs and it'll take a week for us to order one." Fortunately, one supplier here has a full-time RT AND they had units in stock! Doing my own work with my insurance company laid the foundation of it taking about 20 minutes total to get insurance at the DME taken care of, get my unit and get fitted yesterday afternoon. (There's a moral here.......do as much footwork upfront as you can and stay on top of things every step of the way! It sure helps.)
Last night, I introduced my 8 year old son to "Darth Daddy".....he thought the mask made me look like Darth Vader! LOLOL I'm at 16, with a 1/2 hour ramp from 8. I went to bed and read for a while (without mask), then about 9:45, put on the mask and turned my 420G on. It only took about 15 minutes to get to sleep, but when the ramp went to 18, it woke me. I was awake for another 20 minutes or so, then drifted off. I woke at about midnight, shut the machine down, took off the mask and had a cigarette outside. Then, back to the mask and machine, full on 16. The sensation of trying to breath with the CPAP was strange....no C-Flex or anything, so exhaling against the full 16 pressure felt weird, but not too bad. It took about 20 minutes to get back to sleep, but then I slept until 3AM, when the mask started leaking and woke me (facial farts is about the best description of the sound by my wife! LOLOL) I woke, adjusted the mask tilt and tightness, then rolled over again and didn't know anything (including wife leaving bed due to mask sounds and my legs thrashing) until the alarm went off at 5:15AM. So, it looks like the CPAP and I are going to have a successful relationship from night one. (Keeping my fingers crossed, though!)
I felt tired this morning, but it was a "healthy" tired, if ya'll know what I mean. I felt rested, but like I've got a major sleep deficit to make up. The best analogy I can think of is a feeling in my middle like a clenched fist. When I'm rested (which I haven't been in probably 5 years or so), it feels like the fist is unclenched and my middle is relaxed. Fortunately, this coming weekend is a 4 day weekend for me, so I'm planning on having a major sleep-a-thon!
I've been reading this forum for about a month now and almost feel like I know some of you quite well. Thanks for all the words of wit, wisdom, humor and encouragement that ya'll give to folks! Keep up the good work. I'll keep posting to let folks know how the nights go if anyone is interested.
One Night Down....the Rest of My Life to Go
9 posts
• Page 1 of 1
Re: One Night Down....the Rest of My Life to Go
Good Luck, how about having your scrip read for an APAP. You were quite efficient to get thru the maze of DME land (RT) and with that pressure #, maybe auto you might not feel that ''fist'' in your chest feeling..? Just an idea..or see how you do....get a copy of your scrip, you can order from CPAP.COM....hang in there, good sleep to you!!
TXKajun wrote:Well, I finally got my CPAP (420G) and full face mask yesterday after over six weeks of Dr. appointment, waiting, sleep test, waiting, report from sleep center, waiting, prescription and finally taking some direct action to intervene with DME and insurance company. Talk about frustrating!!!
During the sleep test, a CPAP was fitted and I slept pretty darn well after it taking about 45 minutes to get used to it. It took 2 weeks for the test to be interpreted by a sleep Dr., then multiple calls over several days to ensure report made it to my regular Dr's office. Then, 3 days after the report got to my regular Dr.'s office, I got a call yesterday saying "Your CPAP prescription is ready". (Happy Valentine's Day!) It took about 3 hours to get with my insurance company and find an in-network DME supplier in town and find a good one. Mostly what I heard was "We have an RT only 1 day a week, and they aren't due in until Friday." or "We don't stock any CPAPs and it'll take a week for us to order one." Fortunately, one supplier here has a full-time RT AND they had units in stock! Doing my own work with my insurance company laid the foundation of it taking about 20 minutes total to get insurance at the DME taken care of, get my unit and get fitted yesterday afternoon. (There's a moral here.......do as much footwork upfront as you can and stay on top of things every step of the way! It sure helps.)
Last night, I introduced my 8 year old son to "Darth Daddy".....he thought the mask made me look like Darth Vader! LOLOL I'm at 16, with a 1/2 hour ramp from 8. I went to bed and read for a while (without mask), then about 9:45, put on the mask and turned my 420G on. It only took about 15 minutes to get to sleep, but when the ramp went to 18, it woke me. I was awake for another 20 minutes or so, then drifted off. I woke at about midnight, shut the machine down, took off the mask and had a cigarette outside. Then, back to the mask and machine, full on 16. The sensation of trying to breath with the CPAP was strange....no C-Flex or anything, so exhaling against the full 16 pressure felt weird, but not too bad. It took about 20 minutes to get back to sleep, but then I slept until 3AM, when the mask started leaking and woke me (facial farts is about the best description of the sound by my wife! LOLOL) I woke, adjusted the mask tilt and tightness, then rolled over again and didn't know anything (including wife leaving bed due to mask sounds and my legs thrashing) until the alarm went off at 5:15AM. So, it looks like the CPAP and I are going to have a successful relationship from night one. (Keeping my fingers crossed, though!)
I felt tired this morning, but it was a "healthy" tired, if ya'll know what I mean. I felt rested, but like I've got a major sleep deficit to make up. The best analogy I can think of is a feeling in my middle like a clenched fist. When I'm rested (which I haven't been in probably 5 years or so), it feels like the fist is unclenched and my middle is relaxed. Fortunately, this coming weekend is a 4 day weekend for me, so I'm planning on having a major sleep-a-thon!
I've been reading this forum for about a month now and almost feel like I know some of you quite well. Thanks for all the words of wit, wisdom, humor and encouragement that ya'll give to folks! Keep up the good work. I'll keep posting to let folks know how the nights go if anyone is interested.
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TXKajun
Re: One Night Down....the Rest of My Life to Go
[quote="gailzee"]Good Luck, how about having your scrip read for an APAP. You were quite efficient to get thru the maze of DME land (RT) and with that pressure #, maybe auto you might not feel that ''fist'' in your chest feeling..? Just an idea..or see how you do....get a copy of your scrip, you can order from CPAP.COM....hang in there, good sleep to you!!
gail, I couldn't even get my regular Dr. to approve a humidifier, much less an APAP. I was told by my regular Dr. that he had to write the scrip exactly as the sleep Dr. recommended. So, I got a CPAP and facemask. I think if I really need to get an APAP or humidifier, I can go to my DME and complain loud and long (which I can do pretty well, LOLOL) and then to my regular Dr and complain loud and long and the scrip can be modified. I figured, though, to start with what the Dr. ordered. After a week or 2, I can go up from there if needed. As for the "fist in my middle", that's only an analogy I use for the feeling I have from NOT sleeping. It's definitely not from the CPAP. As much as I've been looking forward to getting started on the "hose", I was really happy to go with what I have. And, like I said above, it's working pretty well......at least nite one.
gail, I couldn't even get my regular Dr. to approve a humidifier, much less an APAP. I was told by my regular Dr. that he had to write the scrip exactly as the sleep Dr. recommended. So, I got a CPAP and facemask. I think if I really need to get an APAP or humidifier, I can go to my DME and complain loud and long (which I can do pretty well, LOLOL) and then to my regular Dr and complain loud and long and the scrip can be modified. I figured, though, to start with what the Dr. ordered. After a week or 2, I can go up from there if needed. As for the "fist in my middle", that's only an analogy I use for the feeling I have from NOT sleeping. It's definitely not from the CPAP. As much as I've been looking forward to getting started on the "hose", I was really happy to go with what I have. And, like I said above, it's working pretty well......at least nite one.
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Janelle
EEEK! Just what I didn't need to hear! LOLJanelle wrote:Oh, gee, hate to tell you, but smoking can be one cause of sleep apnea, too, since it constantly irritates your throat and might cause enlargement of your tonsils. Even light smoking. Might be a good time to quit.
Seriously, I know that smoking is at least an enhancer of tons of bad stuff, including sleep apnea, not to mention a foul, filthy, disgusting addiction that is becoming more and more socially unacceptable. Right now, though, I am not going to even try to quit. For now, I'm going to take one step at a time towards better health, the first step being starting to treat the OSA. Then will come working out/walking/playing with my son (which is one of the main reasons I'm so darn excited about this treatment). After that, well, we'll see.
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| Mask: Ultra Mirage™ Full Face CPAP Mask with Headgear |
| Additional Comments: APAP, 8-14 cm H2O. |
This therapy WORKS!!!
9 posts
• Page 1 of 1